Get Angry

Today’s message at my church was about anger, and it really hit home with me. Now, I know what a lot of you may or may not be thinking; “You’re one of the most non-angry people I know. How the heck could a message on anger hit home with you?” Initially, when I walked in and saw what the topic was going to be, I was in the same boat. My pride and self-righteousness let me believe that this would just be another sermon that I could just pretend to listen to because when it comes to anger, I’m about as good as they come. I hardly ever get angry.

And that’s the point.

I don’t get angry, and that’s a problem. Oftentimes passivity and silence can be just as destructive as harsh confrontation and volatile aggression, if not more destructive. Passiveness is often, but not always, rooted in selfishness. It says, “I care more about being liked and not ruffling any feathers than I do about someone else growing and becoming a better version of themselves. I care more about being liked than I do about seeing justice prevail.” People, myself included, often say that they care about this and that they care about that, yet they—we—do nothing. If we say we care about something but don’t actually do anything about it, then it’s just an empty and fleeting opinion. Anger can be a catalyst toward change, and it’s only when we truly become angry about something we care about that we are moved to action in order to bring that change.

“Be the change you want to see in this world.” –Gandhi

So, with all this talk about anger, some may be wondering, “Should I just go around getting angry about everything I want to see changed?” Well, no. We have to look into Scripture to see what made God angry and what really grieves Him lest we become angry about trivial and selfish things. If something offends or angers us but it doesn’t necessarily anger or offend Christ, we have to look at whether the anger is coming out of selfish motives and if the situation really necessitates our anger. And we also have to remember that Ephesians 4:26a says, “In your anger do not sin.” We look at Jesus and we see that he was angry on several occasions, yet he was the only sinless man to walk this earth.

Picture anger on a continuum, where passivity is on the lower extreme and volatile aggression is on the upper extreme. Anger can be a good thing. However, when taken to either extreme, it has the potential to lead to death, whether it be spiritual or literal, physical death. We have to learn to live in the tension between the two. Live in the tension intentionally.

Get angry.

You’ll eventually be able to find a link to the full-length sermon upon which this is based here: http://www.gracepoint.org/index.cfm/PageID/2308/index.html Just click on the one entitled “Get Angry” whenever it’s posted.

Late Night Thought

Smudges, scuffs, rips, and fringes suck at first when they first dirty a once-clean jacket, t-shirt, favorite pair of jeans, etc. when we’re on a journey or adventure to wherever it is that we’re going.  But after a while, it becomes just another trait that adds to the character of the jacket, t-shirt, favorite pair of jeans, etc. And at the end of the journey, you’ll have a well-worn, scuffed up, beautifully dirty article that tells a story– a story of where you’ve been. A story of what you’ve gone through. What you’ve endured to land where you presently find yourself. 

And so it goes. Scars and wounds in our lives, when they make their initial cut, are terrible. Unbearable at times. And as we continue on in this thing we call life, the scars, if highlighted, have the potential to reveal a life of hurt and strife and can look ugly and painful. However, if we learn to accept the scars and take ownership of them– allow them to become entwined into the very essence of our being– we can appreciate the scars as enhancing who we are rather than detracting from it. Scars or no scars, walk confidently. Head held high. Confident in who you are, and confident in who you are not. 

MICHAEL GUNGOR On The Problem With The Christian Music Industry

Reblogged from AWAKEN GENERATION:

When you are in a touring band, there is a lot of time that is spent waiting. Waiting to board a plane, waiting for the bus to arrive at the venue, waiting for sound check…etc One of the many games that people in our band have implemented now and then to fill the waiting time is a little game we might call the “Christian or secular” game.

Read more… 3,010 more words

Michael Gungor's thoughts are my thoughts. However, his words are much better than what mine would have been. A bit of a lengthy read, but worth. every. word.

Apple Pie

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Thanksgiving = Pie time. I know, apple pies are not traditional Thanksgiving pies, but I heard this illustration using apple pies a couple weeks ago at College Ministry, and I really liked it. And I expanded on it a little. Apple pies are a lot like our spiritual lives. Really, they’re like our lives in general, but I’ll stick with the spiritual aspect of it for this illustration. I’ll just speak from the perspective of baking an apple pie, and instead of insulting your intelligence by making all the connections for you, I’ll let you do that on your own. I’ll interject where I feel like an interjection may be necessary, but for the most part, you should be able to see the connections.

In order to make an apple pie, we need specific ingredients, right? Right. Specific ingredients are essential to a fulfilling and satisfying pie. For example, apples. Apples are definitely necessary to make an apple pie. Sugar. I don’t know about you, but an apple pie without sugar (or any sweetener) would not be satisfying. In fact, it’ll probably be disgusting. Butter, flour, etc. etc. I think you get the point. There are essentials to a fulfilling and satisfying pie.

Then, there are the things that will definitely be terrible to add to the pie. For example, the pie would literally be ruined if you were to add a pound of mayonnaise to the pie. Why would you even do that? Or, what if you added pickles in the filling? That’s just gross. Or spaghetti sauce? Yum, right?! Ok, I don’t think I need to beat this dead horse any more. Certain things can definitely ruin a pie and make it unsatisfying, if not completely inedible.

Then there’s the cooking method. Who in his right mind would microwave an apple pie? NOT ME! I mean, microwaving could be a tempting cooking method. After all, it’s quick, easy, and it might work. But deep down, even before you put the pie in the microwave, you know it’s not going to be as good as if you just put it in the oven and wait. Be patient and wait for the process to run its course. *Interjection*(Sanctification is like us baking! It takes time and it takes patience.)  To take a short, sort-of detour, sex outside of marriage is kind of like this whole “microwaving” process. Yeah, it’s quick, it’s easy, it requires no patience, but essentially, it’s not nearly as fulfilling as sex inside marriage. Or so I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know seeing as I’m not married.

Now, this is the part I added.

Although certain ingredients will definitely create a fulfilling and satisfying pie, and certain things will definitely create a pie that will not be fulfilling, there are also the optional ingredients. The gray areas. Although every apple pie has some of the same essential ingredients, most of them differ in the amounts of these ingredients, and some of them may even have additional ingredients. For example, some people may want to add cinnamon to their pie. Is it essential? No. But does it make it worse? No. Or, some people may want a latticed top. Others may want a solid top with slits in it. Does it really make a difference? No. And this is usually where arguments arise.

We need to realize that all the essential ingredients are the same in every apple pie and stop fighting over whether or not the pie needs cinnamon.

Here’s the sermon on which I based the majority of this. Just look on the left-hand side and click on the podcast from 11/06/2011 entitled, The Empty Church: Stir It Up. http://www.gracepoint.org/index.cfm/PageID/2155/index.html

Context, Context, Context

As many of you may or may not know, I graduated from a Bible college this past April. One thing that was drilled into our heads was that we have to know the context of a verse or passage before we quote it, use it in a sermon, or even reference it in speaking to people. Without the context, the verse or passage can look and mean something completely different to different people depending on their experiences, perceptions, thoughts, etc. and can be used for something completely opposite of what the verse or passage was originally intended. Don’t worry; this isn’t a rant on biblical interpretations.

Instead, this is a “rant” about formulating opinions about people in relation to knowing the context of people’s lives. What is said about biblical interpretation can also be said of interpreting people. “Interpreting” is merely a euphemism for judging. So often, we make hasty judgments of people based on isolated incidents or maybe even a number of isolated incidents pieced together to form our “accurate” judgment or opinion of someone. But we can’t just base our ideas of people based on what they do. People are a composite of their experiences. So, we can look at a girl who wears revealing clothing and is throwing herself at guys and call her a slut. I mean, look at all the “evidence.” But when we look closer, we see that these are simply verses. We need to know the context. When we get to know her story, we realize that, oh, she was raped when she was young. And, oh, because of the damage that was done, the only way she can feel loved and accepted by guys is by throwing herself at them and wearing revealing clothing. Does it make what she’s doing right? Absolutely not. But what this does is it brings precision to how we will approach her. It brings precision to how we can love her in a way that she feels accepted and knows that she is worth more than what she believes she is worth.

Another example. We can look at an annoying kid and write him off as just that. An annoying kid who is just super needy, selfish, attention-seeking, mean, and just a brat. But when we look at the context we see that, oh, his older brother has severe autism and has the mental capacity of an infant. And, oh, he doesn’t get attention from his parents since they’re so busy with his brother, and so the only way he can get attention is by being that annoying kid. Because even if he’s getting negative attention by getting in trouble, at least people are paying attention to him. Again, does this make what he’s doing right? Not at all. But now that we know the context of his life, we can meet his needs and it, again, brings precision to our love of that kid who just wants to be valued and accepted. Just like the rest of us.

Am I saying that every annoying kid probably has a brother with a disability and that every girl who dresses provocatively was raped when she was younger? Of course not. But what I am saying is that people have a lot more going on, or have a lot more that they’ve been through than we can ever imagine or that we may ever think. So, before we formulate opinions about people, we have to know the context of their life.

Balloons

I was thinking about balloons the other day. Yes, balloons. Balloons are interesting little things. Have you ever played with balloons with differing amounts of air in them? Or maybe you have, as most kids have, played the game where you couldn’t let the balloon hit the ground, but you couldn’t hold them either. You just had to keep bouncing it up to the next person. Well, this is what I was thinking about, and I found a neat parallel between this childhood game and people— people who are hurting. For those of you who have played the game I described, you might have (or maybe might not have) noticed that the more air the balloons had, the easier keeping them up was. In other words, the more air they had, the less effort you had to put forth to keep them floating and keep them from hitting the ground. The balloons that didn’t have much air in them at all were the ones that required the most effort and also these balloons were a little more unpredictable in the direction they would move when you bounced them up, especially if they were lopsided and not completely round. And it took everybody that was on one balloon to really work together to keep the balloon afloat. If people weren’t at least somewhat paying attention, the balloon would likely hit the ground. And also, if one person tried to bounce the balloon all on his own, he wouldn’t be able to pay attention to where he was going and could run into a tree or something. Then the balloon would fall.

Now.

Imagine that the balloons with the most air in them are the people in this world who don’t really have any immediate needs, whether it be emotional, spiritual, or physical. Yeah, they need some type of support system, but not too much. Just enough to keep them afloat. And honestly, just as with the balloons, if the person doesn’t have any pressing or immediate needs, he could get away with just having one person as his “support.”  That support could still carry on without interrupting his own life too much. However, if that support, whether it be a person or a group of people, stopped being intentional and stopped supporting the balloon, even if it was minimally, then the balloon would float down until eventually it would hit the ground. It would be a steady downfall, but a downfall nonetheless. Then there are the balloons that don’t have much air in them at all. Maybe even deflated completely. These are the people that are in a crisis. These are the people that, if you aren’t supporting them, or not giving them much attention, they’re bound to hit the floor—rock bottom. These people require the intentionality of the people around them more than others might. Now, just as in the game, you should not hold people completely, and oftentimes, you cannot hold people completely. People need the opportunity to grow on their own while being supported, so to hold them completely would be doing them a disservice. And also, these are the people who need a group of people supporting them. If one person tried to do it on his own, he would have to spend so much of his own attention and energy on keeping that person “afloat” that he wouldn’t be able to focus on his own life and may end up running into a tree, causing the other person to hit the ground anyway.

I think we’re all somewhere on this continuum. The challenge is knowing where on this continuum we fall, and also, knowing where the people around us are on this continuum. Now, I haven’t thought this completely through, so there are likely to be logical fallacies, but regardless, I think some of this does hold some truth. And I just like the idea of balloons.

Two Pennies

Today was a day off of work, but all teachers had to go to an in-service training and paraprofessionals (this is what I am) had the option of going or taking the day off. I went. Some of it was interesting, talking about how to better provide an effective education for our special ed students and whatnot. But the majority of it was brutal. So instead of boring myself with listening to all the jibber jabber, I thought. And oftentimes when I think, I write. Lucky for you.

First Thought
We need to start thinking outside the box. This can apply to a number of different situations and fit several different contexts, but regardless, thinking outside the box is what we need to do. For this illustration, I will use a light bulb to represent thought. Light bulbs (thoughts) can shine brighter and are infinitely more useful when they are outside of a box. Also, boxes have definite, set-in-stone boundaries. But when thoughts are outside of the box, the limit is the cosmos. This is where real thinking can begin.

A penny for my thoughts.

Second Thought
We as humans are such a complex network of systems and synapses. An interaction of bodily functions that work together in perfect harmony to allow us to operate properly. Or at least semi-properly. At the same time, we are all so different. We all have stories and unique personalities that may or may not be a composite of past experiences. There is a sameness and a connectedness to humanity that is nothing short of a beautiful reality. But our differences. Now, that’s where the true beauty lies.

Two pennies.

A [Few] Word[s] About Me

Over the last, I would say, year or so, I’ve started to see that I really am an introvert. Not so shocking, some might say, but to me, the fact that I understand that is huge. I think I’ve finally accepted that and am…ok with it. You see, I have, as many people probably have, always thought of being introverted as a negative thing. It always carried a negative connotation for some reason. I think that comes from the fact that the people everybody notices are almost always extroverts, and so introverts sort of gain this stigma of being loners or anti-social or boring. That’s a trait that I’ve come to realize in the not-so-distant past that has been one of my biggest insecurities—to be labeled or thought of as boring. I’m not really sure why I have always been insecure about that. But to hear from someone that I am boring is one of the worst things that I can think of hearing about myself. Weird, I know, but true. So this is probably why I have been so reluctant to accept my introverted self. And to be completely honest, I’m beginning to like the fact that I’m introverted. It takes so much pressure off of me to try and fit in to this extroverted world. “Fit in” may not be the best choice of words there. I guess it just feels good to be who I am. “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” St. Francis de Sales said that.

A word about introverts. Well, about me anyway. Some may say I’m shy when they first meet me. I wouldn’t say I’m shy; I just usually don’t talk unless I actually have something to say. Also, I’m not much of an “approacher.” However, if I’m spoken to, I’m more than willing to talk back and interact in a half-normal way, I think. And if I get talking about something that interests me, I can definitely talk. This is true when I first meet people (not outright talking to anybody and everybody who will listen), but it’s also true when I’m in large groups of people that I do know.  I actually enjoy observing people interact. Also, I’m not dependent on human interactions. That is, I can be perfectly fine spending the whole day by myself—reading, writing, people-watching, nature-watching, thinking, whatever. Perfectly fine. In fact, if I don’t get the opportunity to do this after so long, I start to get antsy and have that “I need to get away” feeling. Again, it’s not that I don’t like people—not at all. In fact, I love people—it’s just that I need alone time too. Time to process and “recharge.” Even if it’s just for an hour or two. It really makes a world of a difference. Constantly being around people takes so much out of me. However, especially spiritually speaking, I know the importance of community and being in relationship with others. I try to have at least a few friends or a group that plays this part in my life.

The thing about me is that I’m not one to make lifelong friends with everyone I meet. I’ll be polite and friendly to just about everyone, but I can usually tell if I’m going to be close friends with someone within the first few interactions with him or her. I will honor those friendships and keep them close. And to those who I don’t become good friends with, there’s hardly ever anything “wrong” with them. I really have nothing against them; I just know I’m going to gel well with someone pretty quickly. I’m also not shy about being open and transparent about myself. Just get me in the right setting with the right people, and I’ll talk. I value transparency and honesty. I’m not interested in surface-level fluff. And trust me, I can tell the difference.

There’s so much more that goes along with all of this, but I’m still in the process of discovering all that makes up who I am and what about me I manufactured as a means to fit in. But I can tell you, the more I find out about myself, the more I like myself. Not in a narcissistic way; I guess I’m just becoming more comfortable and really enjoying my own skin.

As a disclaimer, this doesn’t describe me all day, every day, 100% of the time. There are exceptions to almost anything and everything. I’ve actually been working on this off and on for the last week or so, and I keep coming up with a small exception here and a small exception there, but for the most part, I would say this describes me pretty well.

I saw this on a good friend and fellow writer’s blog a while back, and I thought it gave really good insight into understanding introverts. I can tell you right off the bat, based on these myths, again, I’m not a “textbook” introvert, but I can definitely relate to the majority of these.
http://www.carlkingcreative.com/10-myths-about-introverts

 

How to be an Artist

            While rummaging through the countless shelves of books for sale at Borders’ “Going Out of Business Sale,” I stumbled upon what some might call, a gem. Had I not already purchased a book and lunch, I would have bought this book myself. If not for my own reading and visual pleasures, then surely for someone who I knew would enjoy it. I almost regret not buying it, now that I think of it. The book is called Drawn To Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes by Walt Stanchfield. What are the odds of another Walt being involved with a Disney product? I had that thought when I read the author’s name. It’s a pretty substantial piece of work, with close to 400 pages of artwork and instructions, and one can view most of it on Amazon. I’ll post the link at the end; I’m not a fan of random hyperlinks in the middle of a bunch of words. But that’s besides the point. The point of this whole shebang is that while browsing and fingering through the pages of this book, I stumbled upon instructions on how to be an artist– hence the title. I really enjoyed it and may take a few of these suggestions and put them into practice. Not because I hope to one day become an artist; I’d do them just for the fun of it. I thought I would share them with all of you who may happen to read this. Enjoy. 

How To Be An Artist
Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make little signs that say Yes! and post them all over your house. Make friends with freedom & uncertainty. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing as high as you can on a swing set. By moonlight. Cultivate moods. Refuse to “be responsible.” Do it for love. Take lots of naps. Give money away. Do it now. The money will follow. Believe in magic. Laugh a lot. Celebrate every gorgeous moment. Take moonbaths. Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams, and perfect calm. Draw on the walls. Read every day. Imagine yourself magic. Giggle with children. Listen to old people. Open up. Drive in. Be free. Bless yourself. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child. You are innocent. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug a tree. Write a love letter. 

As promised: 
http://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961

He’s So Good

In the last several months, God has been reminding me and showing me through people, books, His word, circumstances, etc. that he is a relational God. He has been showing me what that really means and looks like. I started reading No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green about a week and a half ago, and it’s blowing my mind right now. The idea of a relational God is mentioned in a powerful way in an excerpt. Keith was headlining a Christian music festival called Jesus Northwest, and was brought to tears while he was in his trailer over the lack of truth spoken at this particular festival. It was all about the music and not so much about Jesus. When he got on stage, this top-selling Christian artist decided to speak for most of his set rather than play his popular music. A bold move by a bold Christ follower. This is some of what he said:

“In the Old Testament it says, ‘These people draw near with their words and honor me with their lips, but they remove their hearts far from me.’ I was listening to everybody singing worship songs before, and nobody deserves praise and worship but Jesus. It’s a beautiful thing.

“But what if your wife said ‘I love you’ but you knew she didn’t honor you and love you in her heart. That you weren’t the most important person on earth to her, and, in fact, she had a couple of other men she liked to look at and think about more than you? How sick would that make you feel? How sick would it be for you to hear, ‘Oh, darling, I love you!’ What do the words ‘I love you’ mean? If you praise and worship Jesus with your mouth, and your life does not praise and worship him, there’s something wrong.

“I want you to go away from here broken and blessed in that order. I don’t want you to go away from here under condemnation. But I want you to get broken before God because unless you’re a broken vessel, he can’t put you back together the way he wants you.”

This really got my noggin a-goin’. How often do I say or sing “Jesus, I love you.” yet think of, depend on, honor, etc. things other than Him? It really is a humbling thought. At least for me it is. But what’s so good about our Lord is that He’s so patient with us. Even though we neglect Him, lie to Him, dishonor Him, even disown Him with our words or actions, He is always there waiting for us to return to Him. He weeps over us, but He also rejoices over us. We are all prodigals, and He is that loving Father who waits patiently and expectantly for us with open arms. We are all Gomers. We “sleep around” with other idols in our lives, all the while our God is like Hosea, accepting us and loving us unconditionally. Man, He’s so good to us. So good.

He wants a REAL relationship with us. He wants us to talk to Him about the good things and the bad things going on in our lives—just like any best friend or significant other would. In the same way, He wants us to listen to Him. He communicates so often through the Holy Spirit, but we so often have deaf ears to hear Him. We will always miss what we are not looking or listening for.

He wants me. He wants you. He just wants us to want Him.